Jacob J. Vreeland Jr.

NJGenWeb ~ Morris County, New Jersey

Source: History Morris County New Jersey, Volume II, Lewis Publishing Co., 1914

The ancestors of the VREELAND family came from Holland in 1636. Michael Jensen VREELAND, accompanied by three sons, settled in Greenville, New Jersey, now a part of Jersey City. He received the first commission from the crown to brew beer in New Jersey. Richard, son of Michael J. VREELAND, settled at or near Pompton Plains, New Jersey. He was the progenitor of the family of which Jacob J. VREELAND Jr. is a member.

Enoch VREELAND, great-great-grandfather of Jacob J. VREELAND Jr., was a resident of Bergen county, New Jersey. His son, Jacob, a carpenter by trade, was the first of this branch of the family to settle in Morris county, New Jersey. His son, Richard J., was born in Stonybrook, Morris county, New Jersey, June 15, 1810, died 1894. He was a shoemaker by trade, which occupation he followed during the greater part of his active career. During the civil War he enlisted as a member of Company E, Fifteenth New Jersey Volunteers. He married Catherine DEY, born at Green Pond, December 12, 1812, died at Newfoundland, Passaic county, New Jersey, 1881, daughter of John DEY, a native of Scotland. Their son, Jacob J. VREELAND Sr., was born at Stonybrook, New Jersey, November 2, 1839, died April 2, 1910. He located in Dover in 1866. He was a contractor and builder, and spent thirty-eight years in the active work of his trade and industry, until he retired, and during all that time a majority of all the more important contracts were awarded him, and he enjoyed the reputation of being a thoroughly reliable man, carrying out every promise faithfully, and possessing the executive energy and capacity for handling men which are fundamental in the building trade. He is also remembered for his good citizenship; he was a member of the city council, of the fire department, being the organizer of the same and filling all offices up to chief, of the board of freeholders, and was vice-president of Dover Board of Trade. He was active in the affairs of the Republican party and often served as delegate to county and other conventions. He married Martha COOPER, born in Sparta, New Jersey, December 7, 1841, died April 1, 1902. He and his wife had the following children:

· Frances M., wife of John B. PELLETT;
· Charles E.;
· John Edward;
· Robert C., deceased;
· Jacob J. Jr.

Jacob J. VREELAND Jr. was born at Dover, March 9, 1875. He received his first schooling from Dr. HALLOWAY, and then from the Miss Lucy MAGIE private school, and altogether his attendance at public school only amounted to a year and a half. On leaving the private schools he took a preparatory course at the Stevens Preparatory School of Hoboken, where he spent two years, and took a special course of two years in the University of Pennsylvania in architecture. After working about one year in Newark, he opened an office for himself at Dover, in 1897, and has drawn the plans and supervised the construction of a large number of residences, business houses and public and semi-private buildings in Dover and vicinity. From 1898 to 1901 he spent at Jersey City, and since then has been steadily a resident and business man at Dover. He is the owner of considerable real estate.

In 1898 Mr. VREELAND married Ella Abbie TUCKER, a native of Rockville, Connecticut. She was the only child of Mathew and Anna (BLISH) TUCKER. She is a great-grandniece of Daniel Webster, the statesman. Her father was in the silk business in Connecticut. The family of Mr. and Mrs. VREELAND comprise the following children:

· Francis M.;
· Florence Elizabeth, who died at the age of ten years;
· Jacob Willard;
· Henry Wrightner;
· Kenneth Merwin;
· Mathew Tucker.

Mr. VREELAND’s public spirited activities should be mentioned, since he has been foremost among that group of men who are doing most for the community of Dover, manifesting a willingness to assist in local enterprises, which are among the most vital factors in community growth and progress. He is in politics a Republican, is a member of the school committee of Dover schools; is chairman of the central committee, chairman of the fourth ward committee and a member of the county committee. He got up the charter list for the lodge of the B. P. O. E. at Dover, and is a past exalted ruler of the lodge. He is also affiliated with the I.O.O.F., the R.A., the G.F., and he and his family attend the St. John’s Episcopal Church. Mr. VREELAND is one of the men who did most to make the "old home week" in Dover a success in 1911.

This biography was transcribed by John Cresseveur (1949-2003).